Turkey arrests journalist over social media post on prosecutors

An Istanbul court late on Saturday formally arrested a Turkish journalist over his social media posts on prosecutors investigating a mayor from Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), his lawyer said.

Furkan Karabay, a reporter with news website 10Haber, was detained early on Friday after writing on X the names of prosecutors conducting an investigation into the mayor.

Ahmet Ozer, the mayor of Istanbul's Esenyurt district, was arrested on Oct. 30 after prosecutors accused him of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), banned as a terrorist group in Turkey.

Late on Saturday, the court ordered the arrest of Karabay pending trial, ruling his social media posts were "targeting public officials involved in the fight against terrorism," a court document seen by Reuters showed.

In his statement to court, Karabay denied the accusation, saying that the names of the prosecutors were reported by a number of media outlets and CHP leader Ozgur Ozel himself mentioned name of the prosecutor.

Ozel at the time condemned the investigation into the mayor, saying that the prosecutor was instructed by President Tayyip Erdogan.

Karabay's lawyer Enes Ermaner said the detention was unlawful.

"A journalist was arrested for reporting on people whose names are well known. It's a shame," Ermaner said.

Press freedom groups and the main opposition party condemned the arrest with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative Erol Onderoglu saying that Karabay's pre-trial detention aims punishment in advance.

RSF ranked Turkey 158th out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

"The arrest of a journalist solely for reporting and informing the public is a serious blow to press freedom and democratic values," the Progressive Journalists Association said in a statement.